Atlantic 10 Basketball: Top 5 rising seniors for 2018-19

4. Javon Bess, St. Louis

6-foot-5 St. Louis Billikens wing Javon Bess is another transfer player who made an instant impact in 2017-18. Bess joined St. Louis after two seasons with the Michigan State Spartans (2014-16).

In his debut season with the Billikens, he produced 13.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. In 33 starts, he showed off his knack for the glass and ability to generate steals. For his efforts, he earned Atlantic 10 All-Defensive honors at the conclusion of the season.

Now, he’ll have an opportunity to add to the mantlepiece as the conference is anybody’s to win. Their underclassmen will rely heavily on Javon Bess to lead the offensive production, something he did with no issue during the 2017-18 season.

With nine players on the roster last year, they posted a 17-16 record. That should change now that Bess has a year in the conference under his belt. He shot just 39.5 percent from the field last season.